Social Media Requires Balance-Short Cuts Allowed!

I have read so many debates on social media, as a trainer I seem to view things a bit different. While I won't claim to be an expert I can tell you I've made many contacts..generated business and opportunities....and am still consistent and continue to build relationships every single day.

"Blog as I say, Not as I Do" are the words spoken by me at a presentation I gave..while many are impressed with my social media skills..the skills are by far expert...in 3 years time I have been blogging as a trainer.

Your goal is to obtain more buyers and sellers...build relationships..and not live on your computer but partake in the real world. Please..don't get huffy about that..meaning getting up close and personal..and literally in front of people. Your social media should guide you there!

Some say setting your social networks to auto is wrong....I disagree..believe it or not...many presenters do not actively sell real estate and at some point..you must step away from your computer! You must get in front of buyers and sellers and on occasion show up at the closing table!

Social Media Requires Balance-Believe It Or NOT Short Cuts Are Allowed!

I have found by working as areal estate trainer ...I can't afford to sit in front of my computer all day long. As a real estate agent neither can you!

Balance...Face to face...phone..appointments are what you should be getting out of social media. Building relationships...referrals...and generating business is what I've gotten out of social media.

I'll continue to automatically send my links through some of these social networking sites...I'll continue to interact with my peers...I'll continue to write posts relevant to what I am doing..funny thing...my sphere is growing...my contact lists are growing and so are the number people in my life and new listings too!

To believe in your hearts that you can post or interact at 30 different places is plain absurd..for some posting a few posts can be a full time job...so ladies and gentlemen while you obtain words of wisdom about social media...just remember one thing...

Most of these experts DO NOT SELL REAL ESTATE and if you take all of these social media experts advice and live on your computer..there is a chance you might not be either!

For those who choose to be consistent and active on a social media there is a balancing act needed. As much as one is drawn to just sit and post and read and respond all day that does not achieve the main goal which is to be successful in real estate and getting out there with visibility of face to face time. You have to properly balance what is important tasks to what may help with business promotion and building as well as meet your emotional needs. I am amazed at many who actively participate in numerous vehicles of social networking and wonder if that is how their day unfolds, plastered on the computer going from one site to another. I like to do one thing well and with full commitment so I have purposely chosen AR over Facebook, Twitter, etc. That way I can balance my social networking on a manageable level and still tend to and do my every day needs for my business to keep it going in a strong building position. Good thoughts to help us self-reflect.

Midoria - Good point!! Blogging, etc. does take up a lot of time. I think a good feature is that now your blog posts can be added as widgets or can easily be incorporated to your other sites, which gives more exposure but reduces that amount of posting you actually have to do. For example, I update my Twitter status from my cell phone and it automatically pushes that status to display on my Twitter site(of course), my blog, my website, and now even my facebook status. Further, I have a wordpress blog, and a wordpress widget on my linkedin page so that any blog updates I write automatically push to linkedin. Web 2.0 is a beautiful thing, and if utilized properly I think you CAN gain maximum exposure with less actual computer time, which gives more time to be out looking at properties and meeting buyers and sellers.

You make an excellent point! You cannot sell real estate over the internet of over the phone for the most part. It has to be person to person. social media merely allows us to get to the person to person opportunity.

I wish you were here in Delaware! Even with my background of 25+ years in the tech business before I became a Realtor 7 years ago, I cannot keep up. As an independent RE/MAX agent without a team of people to support me, it is overwhelming.

Several of my clients have contracted with me specifically for this reason. Blogging can be a terrific medium through which you can garner a large following of true prospects. The problem is that it can be time consuming. One of my clients writes very well and so she writes her blogs and I post them for her and add graphics, colors, and fonts to make them pleasing to the eye. Then, I distribute them all across the net. It gets the job done while affording her the opportunity to stay out in her local community being visible.

Too many agents go into the social media game thinking they need to be all things to all people or be on all social media platforms. That's just not the case. Pick a few where you believe your target market are hanging out and start hanging out there as well. Gradually add more as you get comfortable with those and on a schedule. Otherwise, it definitely can take over your life!

Excellent reminder. Balance in all things. Create harmony in your life and the good stuff comes. And I agree with those who noted you sell real estate person to person not by tweeting or posting on facebook. They are forms of advertising which have different rules, much softer sell approaches required - they are subtle reminders to people you are out there and what you do. I have gotten calls from Facebook and again takes the person contact to close it.

Time blocking is the key for me. I start with lead generation time each day. Blogging is great as long as it does not take over my day. I time block 1 hour intervals during the week that I dedicate strictly to blog and work on SEO. It helps.

Most of the training on social media is about social media. William Johnson made a point to me that so many of the top agents are not on AR or even blogging. I do think it is worth our investment in learning the skills.

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